Striking bag construction



Dec. 1, 1953 A. F. HILTON 2,661,212

STRIKING BAG CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 1, 1950 IN VEN T 0R. fl/berf FM? fan B Wa 12/ 1- Patented Dec. 1, 1953 UNITED STATES FATENT QFFICE STRIKING BAG CONSTRUCTION Albert E. Hilton, Cincinnati, Ohio Application September 1, 1950, Serial No. 182,736

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in the construction of striking bags or punching bags.

An object of the invention is to provide improved ineans for suspending a striking bag from a platform or other overhead support, with the purpose of minimizing the annoyance, expense, and danger resulting from breakage of parts in the region of the swivel hanger.

Another object is to facilitate and expedite the repair or replacement of wearing parts in a striking bag, and to so construct the suspension device that wear is negligible to the extent of practically eliminating the need for servicing.

Another object is to facilitate assembly of the striking bag in manufacture, and to increase the useful life thereof by eliminating repeated restitching at the hanger where breakage occurred heretofore.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated upon the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is an elevational view of a striking bagor punching bag embodying the improvements of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional View of the upper portion of the bag, showing the swivel hanger in detail.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view showing a slightly modified form of hanger unit.

It has been common practice heretofore in the manufacture of striking bags, to stitch within the neck of the bag a flexible loop of leather, fabric, or similar material, whereby the bag was suspended from a chain or rope depending from the usual overhead platform. The loop in many instances was somewhat similar to a boot-strap, the ends thereof being stitched to the bag body inside the neck. When the loop member wore through or deteriorated to a dangerous degree, it was necessary to out and remove the stitching and replace the loop member with a new one. The new loop member usually was stitched in place where the old one was removed, with no eifort being made to apply the new stitching to the same needle holes which held the original stitching. As the result of repeatedly applying new loop members to the neck of the bag, the bag material eventually became so perforated at the neck region that the entire bag had to be prematurely discarded even though it might have been otherwise in good condition.

In addition to the foregoing objections, the striking bag required repair by power sewin machinery, which resulted in keeping the bag out of service for extended periods of time while the bag was transported to and from the place where power machinery was available.

By means of the present invention the foregoing objections have been eliminated, and in fact the repairs are so infrequent that the bag usually is worn out by the time any repairs are needed at the hanger or in the neck region of the bag.

Referring to the drawing, 5 indicates the striking bag which is generally pear-shaped, and usually constructed of animal hide although in some instances a substitute material may be employed. The bag has a neck 6 which is slitted downwardly from the reinforced top edge 1, the slit being indicated at 8. After the usual bladder has been inserted in the bag through the slit opening, the opening is tightly closed by means of lacing- 9 or otherwise. The broken lines ll! indicate stitch ing whereby a reinforcing piece is applied to oppo-' site sides of the slit inside the neck, this being common practice and therefore unnecessary to disclose here in detail.

As illustrated by Fig. 2, the neck 6 has secured within it by means of fasteners I2, I 3, l4 and IS, a hanger unit indicated generally by the character IT. The hanger unit is constructed throughout of rigid or hard material such as metal, and comprises an anchor member secured to the neck of the bag, and a swivel head for attachment to a fiexiblesuspension element, such as a rope or a chain l6 (Fig. 3), depending from the usual platform or overhead support, not shown. Revertingto Fig. 2,.the anchor member will be seen. to consist of an inverted U-shaped metallic strap having legs [8 and I9 spaced apart a distance to conform with the inside diameter of the bag neck. The legs preferably are slightly divergent from the base 20 to conform with the flare of the neck 6, and may be perforated where the several fasteners pass through the legs and the material of the bag neck. The perforations are best shown at 2| upon Fig. 3, it being understood that the legs l8 and IQ of Fig. 2 are similarly perforated. The width of the metallic strap which forms the anchor member l8-l920 should exceed the diameter of a fastener by an amount sufiicient to furnish ample strength and rigidity of the piece, to withstand wear and distortion under the strains imposed during use of the strikin bag.

The base section 20 of the anchor member may be pierced intermediate its ends, as at 22, to receive a rotary pivot member 23 here shown as a threaded bore 24 of a swivel head 25. The head screw, threaded tightly into the axial internally may include an eye as shown, whereby the bag may be suspended by a chain or other flexible suspension means. The body 26 which carries the head may abut the top of the base 20, and is rotatable relatively thereto. A suitable washer 2'! may be interposed between the head of pivot member 23 and the under face of base 20, this washer being loose to permit the swivel action above mentioned.

Fig. 2 shows several common forms of fasteners whereby the legs I8 and I9 may be secured to the material of the striking bag. Fastener 12 is'a bolt and nut; fastener i3 is a rivet; fastener I4 is a cotter pin type of fastener; and thatshown at l consists of a screw 28 threadedly engaging the interior threads of a cylindrical socket 29 having a screw head 30. If desired, the outer heads or ends of the fasteners may bear against a perforate plate 3! of metaL-fiber, or other hard material placed against the exterior .of the bag neck, to preclude anytendency of .the fasteners to wear through the relatively soft material of the'bag. In practice, two of the plates 3| may be employed, providing reinforcement at each of the legs |8-i9. Depending .upon the nature of the fasteners used, platesrsuch as-3i may or may not be needed for reinforcement purposes. It will be understood,of course, that one form of fastener will beselected from therseveral forms disclosed by way of example upon Fig. 2, or the selection may be made from-other sources, if desired. For example, the perforations'such as 2| may be interiorly-threaded, or threaded nuts may be fixed overthem, to receive screws applied exteriorly of the bag.

In the modification illustrated by Fig. 3, the anchor member consisting of legs.33-34, and base part 35, may be identical to the corresponding anchor member of Fig. 2. The swivel head in Fig. 3 may comprise a-base or body36 having an integral eye 31 for attachment toa chain [6 or other suspension means, and the connection to the part 35 may be effected by means of a depending lug 3.8 on the body 36 passing loosely through an opening 39 of the anchor member base 35,and through a washer J10, beneath which the lug may be peenedorheadedasat 4| to preclude separationof the parts. The head is freely rotatable relative to the anchor member, and washert may be omitted, if desired. The unit illustrated by Fig.3,mayhe applied to the neck of a striking bag in the same manner as that of Fig. 2.

It may .be noted that the .rolled .or reinforced upperend I! of the bagneck may extend beyond the base 25 .of the .swivelhead, as suggested by Fig. 2, to afford a protective cushion about the vital parts of the swivelstructure. The unit of Fig. 3 maybe similarly protected when incorporated in a bag neck. However, .in the broadest form of the invention, the upper end of the bag maybe located substantially flush with, or below, the horizontal parts 2001235 of theanchor members, if desired.

A striking bag constructed in accordance with the present invention, is found to outlast many times over, a striking bag made by the conventional methods. Upon those infrequent occasions when repair or replacement of a hanger unit may become necessary, the bag may be restored to service with very little delay, and with a minimum of effort and expense, Other advantages obtained by the new construction have been mentioned previously herein, and still others may be apparent to persons skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes in structural details of the device may be resorted to, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, a flexible striking bag having a reduced neck open and reinforced annularly at the upper end of the bag, a substantially rigid anchor member including a connecting base, and a plurality of spaced rigid legs extending from said connecting base in a common direction, the spacing of the legs corresponding substantially with the inside diameter of the neck of the bag, means fixing the legs interiorly of the bag neck \vith'the connecting base of the anchor member disposed insidethe reinforced annular open end of the bag neck, and a swivel head including a rotary body abutting the connecting base, said body being surrounded by the reinforced annular open .end of the bag neck, an eye on the swivel head exposed beyond the bag neck, and a pivot connecting the body of the swivel head to the connecting-base-of the anchor member.

'2. In combination, a flexible striking bag having areduced neck open and reinforced annularly atthe upper end of the bag, a substantially rigid anchor member including a connecting base, and at least one leg-extending from said connecting base, means :detachably fixing the leg interiorly of the body neck with the connecting base of the anchor member disposed inside the reinforced annular open 'endof the bag neck, and a swivel head including a rotary body abutting the connecting base, said body being surrounded and protected by-the reinforced annular open end of the bag neck, an eye on the swivel head exposed beyond the open 'end aforesaid, and pivot means connecting the body of the swivel head to the connecting base of the anchor member.

ALBERT F. HILTON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

